Fake Dip: To Chew Or Not To Chew

I’m sitting up way too late and not working… This used to be PRIME chewing time. Wife and kids are in bed, I’m down in the basement watching Baseball Tonight with a big fattie in. The difference is, tonight it’s a fatty of Hooch Snuff rather than Kodiak.

Many people will say that there’s no way I should be still chewing the fake stuff over 1,000 days into my quit. I say they couldn’t be more wrong. I’ve said it hundreds of times… I’d rather chew a can of fake stuff per day for the rest of my life than EVER have another dip of Kodiak. I’ll do quite literally whatever it takes to never have another dip.

So the logical question is… am I craving tonight? Is that why I’m having some Hooch? The short answer… nope. I can honestly say that I don’t crave anymore. But old habits die hard. I stuffed Kodiak, Skoal, Cope, etc. into my pie hole every day for nearly 18 years. There are some activities that STILL to this day I must do with a “dip” in. The difference is now my “dip” has no nicotine in it… and it never will again.

160 Comments

I chewed a can of cope every day and a half for 20+ years. On top of that, I smoked a pack a day for 14 years. I quit the smoking 6 years ago and quit chewing a little over a week ago.

What is really working for me is a 21mg patch paired up with the smokey mountain herbal snuff. The first 3 days were rough because even the biggest patch isn’t the same amount of nicotine I was taking in daily and I hadn’t yet picked up the fake chew.

Once I paired them up, I don’t desire Copenhagen anymore. I plan on following the patch program exactly as they suggest until I am nicotine free and then there will just be the habit to break (or just chew the smokey mountain)

No one ever replied to David’s post on March 25, 2011. I have the same question. What about non tobacco long leaf chew like Red man? Does any one know of a substitute? I really do not enjoy a dip, but I enjoy a chew of long leaf tobacco.

@Brandon – unfortunately there’s not really a long leaf alternative product on the market (at least that I’ve ever run across). I know that there have been some talks amongst some of the alternative makers (Hooch, Jakes, etc.) but I’ve not yet seen a product come to market.

I smoked and dipped for about 14 years, it’s been about a week since my last of both. I have been using Mint Snuff Pouches from the Oregon mint snuff co. This stuff is like a crushed up candy mint put into a pouch… the thing that I like is that it burns, but it only lasts 15-20 min or so. I used to leave in a camel pouch in for hours, so its a little different. Whatever works, yeah? Also I tried their non-pouch kind and did not like it as well, no burn and almost no flavor.

Just learned two days ago that my insurance coverage at worked moved me from from non smoker to smoker since I chewed snuff and will cost me a measly $60.00 more a month…well frantically I scoured the internet for snuff that was tobacco free since I don’t plan on paying out the nose for insurance and I know it is time to quite since I have been chewing since I was 15 (26 years)…found Smokey Mountain, Mint Snuff, Hooch and Jake’s were my options….the problem was finding it available in my neighborhood….headed to Kroger, no luck, Walgreens, no luck….next stop some Tobacco outlet….I never been in one and while I was waiting there were people that appeared to be making cigarettes in some kind of rolling machine…weird….anyway asked the first lady what I wanted and she said she was not aware of anything but let me ask the other lady working here….she said yeah I think we have something and she went to the back and pulled out a box of Smokey Mountain Wintergreen (Skoal version) at $2.99 that probably had dust on it for about two years (an apparently longer since it was dated 2007) but it was still moist and so far still using it….I moved onto my local Giant Eagle and they had Smokey Mountain Classic (the Copenhagen version) at $2.99 and it has been pretty good as well….I will say both are good substitute so far other than it seems to stick between teeth when removing thus causing some extra brushing/flossing but I guess that promotes healthier teeth…

After 25 years of Cope and some life stress, I ended up with stomach cramps and a feeling of bloat. According to online medicine search engines I had stomach cancer. The thought of leaving my 7 year old without a dad was the deciding factor to finally quit. I didn’t use patches, gum, or the fake stuff. Flat out cold turkey. Well fortunately for me (and my kid) it turned out to be gastritis only…the early symptoms are identical. I’m now 54 days tobacco free. As wonderful as that is, I’m now gaining weight. I agree with you Chewie. There are some activities that require a fat dip. Leaves me with two questions. 1) What’s the closest to Cope? 2) Which retailers carry it? I can’t find Hooch, SMC, or any non-tobacco snuff anywhere except online.

I’ve been a skoal straight and grizzley long cut straight user for 14+ years and have been with out a chew for 4 days now and just picked up a can of smokey moutain winter green is there one that tastes more like skoal striaght and please tell me is gets easier with time.

Just recieved my order from Jakes and I am really liking the wintergreen. It has the consistancy of the scoal wintergreen that I have loved for way too long. My one beef with Jakes is that it does not have the cayenne pepper to give it that slight burn. If I wanted to add the pepper myself does anyone have a good idea about the amount of peppper I would want to add to the 1.2oz can of Jakes wintergreen?

For those looking for Smokey Mountain, Walmart carries it.
I just bought two cans for the price of one Kodiak. I’m going to try it today. Been chewing Kodiak on and off since I was a little kid and I’m 40 now. Sounds like SMC and Hooch are the closest to the real thing. Any other Kodiak chewers find anything close? I’ll order some hooch online today. It’s time to stop. Wish me luck and best of luck to all of you.

Thanks Chewie, I ordered some Hooch today and spent a lot of the day reading horror stories and facts about nicotine and tobacco and looking at some horrible pictures of people with chew damage. I learned a few things and hopefully with that knowledge and those images burned in my brain I can put the real stuff down for good. A friend once told me that if I could quit drinking I could do anything. It’s been about 8 years with no problems, so I’m
on my way. Thanks again, Ken.

i have friend that has been dipping for years and are now doing Smokey mountain and they love it!!! There were obvious withdrwards with the side effects from the real tobacco, but sre happy with the product today

I’m into week 3 of my quit. Dipped for almost 20 years and loved every second of it. One of those hard head’s that said I “couldn’t” quit. Well, that was B.S. I’ve never gone over a day in 20 years and it’s been 3 weeks. I’m GD proud of myself as are my friends and family. As for the urge, my doctor prescribed Wellbutrin (sic) instead of Chantix because my insurance didn’t cover Chantix and it’s incredibly expensive. The Wellbutrin is also an anti-depressant so it helps with the blues as well. I really don’t notice much change but decreased appetite (which is good considering quitting usually means gaining weight)and I was taking it twice a day but now only once. I used Hooch for the past 3 weeks and found it decent but certainly not a replacement for the real thing (obviously). My favorite is the Classic and/or Spitfire. I didn’t care for the Whiskey and the texture of the stuff sometimes feels like ground up fingernails! Best of luck truly to anyone out there trying to quit. Kill the Can.org is a great resource for quitters. This time I’m not using it along with my quit because I wanted to do it “on my own.”

28 year can a day and casual pipe smoker.
Day 2 into quit. Doc prescribed patch and wellbutrin.
Went crazy on the pills so the cut it back to one a day.
Im not doing the patch. I want nic out of me.
I’m dipping smokey mt and Oregon mint pouches.
They are SO helpful.

I dipped a can of copes a day for 32 years. When I first bought it, it was $.55 a can – wow. I quit using chantix and Smokey Mountain. Took Chantix for 3 weeks and now I just do the Smokey. I use about a can or so a week and sometimes add some molasses to it to keep it fresh. I am saving a bunch of $$ too.

Hey guys…how’s it going? Okay, I tried to quit back in 2010, but failed miserably. I then decided to attempt again this past October. I’m over 60 days post-dip. The first time, I attempted to quit simply by using the fake dip. This time, I went with Nicorette lozenges and didn’t mess with the fake stuff…well, that is until I ran out of lozenges. I’m now 13 days post-nicotine (took my last lozenge on 17 December). I found a couple of cans of fake pouches from my first attempt at quitting. I found those have worked when craving something in my mouth. I spent about 3 or 4 days in a “fog” as I withdrew from the nicotine, but I pushed through. Now, here I am. I would like to write reviews of the fake dips/pouches I’ve tried. I’m also looking at trying the fake stuff again. I find that I still want a dip in for certain things and I may always want a dip in certain situations. So, I’d like to try the fake again. There are some products I want to give a second go at and a couple of new products that weren’t there when I tried to quit the first time. I’d like to write reviews of these things. Can someone tell me how I can become a reviewer on this blog?

I’ve been chewing consistently for 4 years…roughly a tin a day. I’ve chewed everything from Skoal Cherry to Cope and Griz Wintergreen to Kayak Grape. I recently switched over to Skoal Snus smooth mint (which comes with 15 pouches) and tastes good, but to get the effect of dipping I need to put 2 or 3 pouches in…and I hate pouches..any suggestions? Does any of these “fake dips” burn your lip like the real stuff? Please respond

Trying to figure out if you’re real, or in this to make a buck. I’m approaching day 5 and just ordered $50 worth of Hooch b/c of your posts. Wondering if you’re a business man (with Hooch) or helping the demon. It wasn’t this hard last time! Here’s to 90 days!

@Brendan – there are some fake chews out there that do indeed have the “burn”. That “burn” you speak of is typically added to these products by adding cayenne pepper. You can see brand that contain it here on our ingredients list. http://www.killthecan.org/yourquit/ingredients.asp All flavors of Hooch do indeed.

@Joshua – I wasn’t a big fan of “the burn” either, but some really look for it in their alternatives.

As for the reviews – they are my opinion. I don’t work for Hooch or another other alternative company. I am the owner/co-founder of KillTheCan.org. I chewed a can+ per day of Kodiak for over 17 years. Just a quitter trying to give back.

@Joshua – I am “affiliated” with them in so much as they provide coupons to our members, and they compensate us when/if people buy from them. We have similar relationships with other alternative companies.

That said, we provide honest reviews of all products. When we like something we say it… when it sucks we say that. All of our “affiliations” realize this before we enter into any sort of our relationship.

I quit June 15th of 2011. Smokey Mountain was the way to go for me. Couple things I like about Smokey Mountain was that it had a slight burn that I would get with Cope and also it makes me spit just like Cope did. It really has worked well. I’ve not cheated once. 7 months and counting.

Good Luck to all those working to quit. Just wanted to throw my 2 cents in.

Well guys, I’m 3 months into quitting, after dipping for 25 years. Tried several times over the years to quit, but it took my youngest daughter in tears, begging me to stop before it killed me, that finally did it. Smokey Mtn. Wintergreen, Artic Mint and Regular has been helpful to fill the void. Tried Hooch and found it absolutely aweful! Regardless of what you use to stay off the tobacco, do it. That little can of Copenhagen or Skoal will kill you eventually if you don’t stop!

I have been dipping copenhagen/redseal for 25 years last week decided i wanted to quit went from dipping a can a day to only allowing myself 3 dips a day in the mid morning when i have my first dip after 12 hours of no nicotine i get a buzz going to order some fake snuff looks like smokey mountain and drop the real stuff thanks for all the reviews to help me with my quest still like the act of dipping so will do the fake stuff to satisfy. my motivation has been my kids don’t want my son to think it is ok cause dad does it. seen a fake snuff called nip ice kinda expensive has anybody tried it?

@twin – I wasn’t a snus guy so I can’t be sure, but I’d suggest either either Hooch Mint, Jakes Natural Spearmint and especially Nip The Grip. Reviews of all three product can be found here: http://blog.killthecan.org/reviews/

i need help. i’ve dipped for the past 7 years. i think i have mouth cancer. im going to the dintest soon.i havn’t dipped in the past 37 1/2 hours i have tried the smokey mnt it didnt help. the entire can is gone and i still want the can of tobbacco. is there any kind of fake stuff that gives you the burn and the taste of fine cut natural. my brand of choice is longhorn natural its cheap and gets the job done. i want to stop but i enjoyed the burn and the bad taste.

Hey I would do anything to not dip again I am trying the gum and everything, with the fake dip is it still unhealthy, and will it continue to damage my gums, i dip two cans a day for 8 years and just cant do it anymore if you got a solution that workds please share the secret

@William – I suppose putting ANYTHING between your cheek and gum is more “unhealthy” than putting nothing there. That said, the smokeless alternatives that we’ve got listed on our site and have reviewed here contain no tobacco, no nicotine and are as safe and “healthy” as any alternative products there are.

As for a solution… well, there is no magic bullet that will make quitting “easy” because quite frankly it’s not. That said, when you’re ready, our community at http://forum.killthecan.org/ has nearly 12,000 members who understand what you’re about to go through cause we’ve all been there. If there’s any “secret” I can share, that’s it. Get signed up, get involved and get quit.

Been chewing Grizzley Wintergreen for 10+ years and my daughters recently asked me to quit. I have cut down from 1 can a day to 3 chews a day. I just ordered Hooch Wintergreen to help with the urges of having that feeliing in my gums, hopefully this will help with the withdrawl symptoms as well. Any testimonials will help. Thanks

@Gerald – I understand what you’re going through. I dipped for 25+ years and had a helluva time quitting. That said, almost 2 years clean right now. The cravings begin to dissipate after about 6 months or so. Smokey Mountain chew was/is my favorite, but that’s personal preference. You’ll use a good deal of the alternative (herbal) chew in the beginning, but it will decrease as your body weens itself off the nicotine craving. Good luck and remember no matter how tough it gets, quitting beats the alternative (cancer of the throat, stomach, esophagus, etc…).

Well I’m 21 years old ive been dipping grizzly and skoal wintergreen for almost 7 years now. I’d have to say Elicit Herbal Chew is by far the best stuff out there to date. It gives you the option of having your dip with or with out nicotine. It’s kind of a finer cut but its about as close to the real deal as it gets. It feels almost identical to having a nice fat skoal packed in(nice burn and lasts for hours). It also leaves your breath refreshed and smelling good. Just a heads up Smokey mountain has molasses in it, it made my teeth really sensitive not to mention it can rot your teeth. Way too sweet for me. I don’t normally comment on threads or anything but my fellow dippers it’s time to rejoice, a great remedy is finally here! elicitherbalchew.com

Yeah I agree with you, there website doesn’t specify the ingredients used in it though, basically says its just made of food based materials. I just figured hell any kind of herbal chew has to be somewhat better for me than the skoal right?

Although it doesn’t contain nicotine, it is still dip. WTF would you still want to walk around with a cat turd in your lip? It further puzzles me why you would want to do that without nicotine, it’s absurd.

At least a part of the reason I quit (and maybe many of you?) is that I want my teeth for the rest of my life! This shit has sugar, a lot of it, and it will rot your teeth just as bad as the real thing. It will also add to your receding gum lines and continue to tear them up.

Perhaps most importantly, this shit is too much like dip! Going from this to the real thing isn’t much of a stretch for me and I have no doubt I would make the transition back at some point so I won’t do it.

Lastly, I find it hypocritical as fuck that a website that bills itself as “hardcore” and acts that way when a member caves to dip would promote using this shit. If you’re hardcore and you want to “kill the can” then kill the fucking can – the whole thing, not just the part you don’t like.

KillTheCan.org is dedicated to helping people who are trying to quit the addiction of chewing or dipping tobacco.
The Quit Forum is administered by 7 ex-dippers whose goal is to allow people to gain the same freedom from chewing they have attained.Any advice given is from personal experience only and should NOT be considered medical advice.